State budget back on track? ... Well, not yet

Illinois’ state budget is back on track after state lawmakers voted last week to restore more than $220 million in deep budget cuts.

Ryan Keith

Illinois’ state budget is back on track after state lawmakers voted last week to restore more than $220 million in deep budget cuts.

Well, not quite.

There’s still a lot of unknown about the budget picture, maybe even more than before lawmakers provided the aid package. Here is a closer look at what’s happened and what could be coming next with the ongoing budget mess.

The backstory

Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced deep cuts earlier this summer, part of $1.4 billion in reductions he made while blaming lawmakers for sending him a budget far out of balance. The move left two dozen state parks and historic sites set for closure. Funding for substance abuse centers and other programs was gutted. Hundreds of state workers face layoffs.

Outrage was intense from advocates and workers throughout the state, putting pressure on lawmakers in an election year to respond.

The House returned two weeks ago to propose to restore the cuts through a $220 million spending bill. It also approved taking a similar amount of money out of state funds dedicated for special purposes – known as “fund sweeps” – to pay for the extra spending.

The Senate refused to come back early to deal with the issue until an ethics reform bill prompted its return last week.

Lawmakers spent two days negotiating an even broader series of fund sweeps and budget restorations, but couldn’t come to an agreement. The Senate instead overwhelmingly approved the House package Tuesday and went back home, able to tell voters they did their part.

But now the package needs to be approved by the governor, who made the cuts in the first place. Early signs are that won’t go smoothly.

Caution abounds

Advocates and workers are adopting one of Blagojevich’s favorite sayings – “cautiously optimistic.”

“We’re happy, we’re excited. We fought the good fight and won the battle, but we haven’t won the war yet,” said Sara Moscato Howe, CEO of the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association, whose members would see a $55 million cut restored. “We’ve got one more major battle to go.”

The caution is well-founded.

Even before lawmakers approved the package, the Blagojevich administration signaled budget problems. Just two months into the budget year, the state Department of Revenue on Tuesday took the rare step of announcing state revenues could run as much as $200 million below expectations.

Less money coming in could force even more cuts.

Blagojevich also says the sweeps bill has problems that could mean more than $50 million can’t be taken out of those funds for budget relief.

For now, the governor’s office and his agencies aren’t saying whether the legislative package will prevent layoffs and closings.

“We are not even certain that the dollars from the funds they are targeting will actually be there,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Katie Ridgway said. “Therefore, it is premature to say anything about spending until we see what money is really available.”

Time is the key

The budget cuts have come in waves so far. Substance abuse centers, mental health treatment and other programs have felt the impact already, having to cut back services and lay off workers.

Historic sites and state parks originally were to be shuttered no later than Nov. 1, but that has been pushed back to Nov. 30. That’s the same date scheduled for hundreds of layoffs at the departments of Human Services and Children and Family Services.

But it could be a while before there’s a solution.

Lawmakers have 30 days to send the governor the bills they approved, and then he has 60 days to act on them. If both take the full allotted time, a resolution would come in time for Christmas. All the cuts would have taken place by then.

The administration says it’s in no rush to make decisions.

“We’ve got until Nov. 30, so there is some breathing room,” said Dave Blanchette, spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

That has lawmakers fearful the governor will wait to the last minute to make his next move and then veto or significantly change the bills they sent him – creating more budget chaos.

“I think he’s that delusional at this point,” said Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare. “This has been the most trying two years I’ve ever seen in Illinois politics. There’s just not much rationale.”

Waiting and lobbying

After seeing lawmakers respond to petition drives and a deluge of calls and e-mails, advocates for parks, historic sites and other programs are turning the pressure onto Blagojevich to sign the bills quickly.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union representing hundreds of workers who could be laid off, is urging the governor to rescind the layoffs and closings because there’s “no sound reason” for the cuts with money now provided to stop them.

But no one is reversing layoffs, undoing hiring freezes or making other concrete plans just yet.

“We have a plan of action, and we’re operating under that premise,” said Dave Druker, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White. That office has limited hiring and overtime and has employees taking several furlough days this year to deal with a $26 million budget cut.

Still, advocates hold out hope that Blagojevich will see the pain coming throughout the state and change course.

“We’ve gotten over one hurdle. It’s a great turnaround to this point,” said Jim Peters of Landmarks Illinois, which is lobbying to keep historic sites open. “We just have to make sure the final hurdle is cleared.”